Heritage, The Future Of Magic
by Active Engaged
Summary: Follow the lives of the direct descendants of the Charmed ones: Sam, Lucas and Amber. They all possess the same, but different heritage, passed down for generations. A new era of magic is dawning, and the third generation is ready. R&R.
1. Through The Looking Glass

**Through The Looking Glass**

_The first instalment in the Heritage series._

* * *

As the dark of night settled in, an explosion echoed through one of the grim alleys of San Francisco, as a dark haired male evaded a fireball, allowing it to scorch the wall behind him.

"I always thought the goal was to _hit _your targets," he quipped as he shook the dust off his clothes. "Obviously not," he taunted.

The demon, as many demons, was clad in leather and had a large black tribal marking on his left cheek. He clenched his rotting teeth and, in a desperate attempt to regain his pride, generated another fireball.

He withdrew his arm to give it more thrust, and chucked it towards the brunette. The witch's eyes widened as he felt the heat elevate as it moved rapidly towards his face. He turned away from the flame and was abruptly engulfed in a pale blue light, followed by bright blue orbs. He missed the fiery by moments.

The blob of fluorescent blue flew over the demon's bald head and solidified itself paces behind the evil entity. Lucas Halliwell's eyes were still open in fear, but he had to keep up the illusion of courage. After years of battling evil he knew that the dark forces could always sense panic. He shook his black hair around before re-engaging in combat.

"That's more like it," he said.

Retracting his own hand, he allowed flames to fill up his entire arm before lunging the flames towards the demon. On impact he fell backwards, causing an enormous amount of sound as his huge body hit the dry ground. Flames swallowed his body, Lucas put his hand up to his face in an attempt to block the heat his vanquish was causing. Moments later the flames died down, leaving only dust.

"Is he gone?" a shaky voice asked from behind the young witch.

Lucas spun around, his cascading hair following, to see a terrified young blonde girl emerge from behind the colourless dumpster, her hair was messy and a line of blood was streaming from her button nose.

"Yeah," Lucas answered before walking down the dark alley and leaving the innocent in solitude.

_Ignorance is bliss _Lucas thought. Although he always saved lives, he was a timid soul and never found it in him to engage with his innocents, so he came to the conclusion that 'the less you know, the better.'

He jumped out of the alleyway's exit and began strolling down the vacant lane. The pitch black clouds that haunted the previously blue skies repelled the population of San Francisco, it made Lucas content. Flooded streets made him feel self-doubting and out of place. His thoughts were company enough for him.

Lucas had never fully understood, or embraced his powers, nor did he want to. He just wanted to lead a normal life, but he seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time; conveniently in the middle of a demonic attack. Almost as if destiny had been pulling him in, forcing him to embrace his destiny.

His thoughts were cut short by the rain that had begun to fall onto his pale cheeks. The skies were opening and preparing themselves to unleash their rage. One building, sitting conveniently in front of him, was lit up with bright orange lights and the tacky sign above the door read: "Magic Shop. Fortune telling, potion ingredients and spells."

_Destiny should be more subtle_ he thought.

He felt drawn to it and as the rain fell harder he moved faster.

The magic shop's door flung open as he approached it, revealing an elderly Gypsy wearing a mauve robe and a jade turban. The woman was silent and beckoned Lucas inside with her weak fingers. Lucas conceded and crossed the threshold.

The air was heavier inside and a strong smell of incense hung in the air. All the surroundings appeared to be very mystical and antique; lavender candles graced the dull surfaces and crystals surrounded the room. He said nothing once he had entered and was even considering walking out of the door, regretting having ever came.

"Do not be afraid, my dear," the Gypsy said, acknowledging Lucas' puzzled expression. "You were sent here for a reason."

The elderly woman made a hand gesture towards the seat opposite to her own. Lucas accepted and sat down.

She placed her hands in the centre of the wooden table allowing a red sweep of light to emanate from them, taking the form of a crystal ball. Powder white columns of smoke filled the orb, morphing into one of the many halls of Golden Gate High school; the school Lucas had frequented.

_**[x]**_

The halls of Golden gate high school were bustling as always, students speed walking through the never-ending hallways desperate to get to their next class, constantly bumping into one another.

One student, Lucas Halliwell walked calmly down the corridor, his hands placed in his pockets. He stopped at his locker, tapped his password on the touchpad, and watched as it flung open. Placing his hands inside he retrieved his chemistry books before heading towards the school bathrooms.

The school bullies, Flynn and John were sitting on the sinks smoking Nabo, a new drug discovered in the late thirties. They immediately spotted Lucas and both smiled deviously.

Flynn jumped off the sink and landed not-so-gracefully on the floor. John followed.

"Hey there," he said falsely, smoking the last of his cigarette in Lucas' face. "What's a mofo like you doing in my bathroom?".

Lucas tried to ignore him and walk straight towards the cubicle, but was cut off when Flynn pushed his books onto the floor.

"Whoops!" he said, a grin growing across his acne covered face. "Maybe you can get your dead parents to help you clean that up," he whispered tauntingly, moving too close to the Halliwell.

Anger. That's all that he felt from that moment onward. Angry at himself for giving them a chance to say something like that. Angry at them for getting him down for the past and angry at his parents for dying in a car crash all those years ago.

One second is all it took. One second that changed his life forever. He began to turn red, the bullies found this amusing but immediately backed away when his eyes were polluted by a black fluid.

"Much better," he said, his voice echoing in the small bathroom. He raised his arms allowing a dark flame to flow from his palm and onto the bullies. Its power caused them to stumble backwards. Their skin began to crust over as it burned.

The red aura that surrounded Lucas' eyes faded away, leaving the baby blue eyes that had graced his face minutes before. The fire disappeared and was replaced by a bright, golden light that surrounded the unconscious ones and caused the deep cuts and burns to slowly dissipate.

The beam faded leaving Lucas with his regular pale hands. He looked down at them and noticed that they were shaking uncontrollably. His eyes moved on to the unconscious bullies that were on the floor.

_**[x]**_

"What you didn't know, Lucas," said the Gypsy as the columns of mist swirled and the bathroom vanished "is that a greater power was watching over you that day."

"Greater power?" Lucas asked, placing his crossed arms on the round table as he squinted his eyes curiously.

"Yes. A power that you are still to young to understand, but when you're ready they will reveal themselves to you," she told him, quenching part of his curiosity, but causing more confusion in his mind. "Now, lets see what else the crystal has to show," she said, waving her hand over the orb, disrupting the mist once more.

_**[x]**_

Rain fell violently to the ground as the 13 year-old witch stepped out of the yellow taxi. Everyone was running home to their loved ones, trying to keep dry, everyone but Amber who stood on the pavement, staring up at her Grams' old Victorian house.A boom of thunder heralded a bolt of lighting and rain continued to fall. But none of this bothered the young witch, after what she'd been through, a bit of thunder was the least of her plodded up to the door, with a bright blue suitcase in one hand, and rang the doorbell. She wiped the runny mascara from her pale face and waited patiently on the front porch for her Grandmother to arrive.

The shabby old house brought back tons of memories for the young witch, one of the relevant ones she remembered was when she was little. She always used to look forward to her Grams' visits; she adored her, and even nicknamed her "Gigi", which stood for Gorgeous Grandma. She hadn't visited her Grandma in a while, mostly because of family issues and as she waited on the colourless porch, she regretted door creaked open and an elderly Phoebe Halliwell stood at the doorway, her eyes opened in shock as she saw her granddaughter sobbing on her front porch. Without hesitating, Phoebe gently brought her descendant inside with her.

_**[x]**_

Later that night, Phoebe took her granddaughter into her stylish living room and sat her down on her couch. The old witch had always been an empathic person, even without her powers and as she sat beside her distraught grandchild she decided it best to do some snooping before interrogating.

Faint jingles filled Phoebe's mind as she tapped into her empathic abilities and delved into the pits of Amber's emotions. The old witch shot back as the emotions she felt overwhelmed her. Anger being the main one. She knew that anger was a difficult emotion and could have magical consequences if not controlled.

The sixty something witch stroked her granddaughter's long brown hair with her thin brittle fingers, in an attempt to comfort her. Bucking up the courage, Phoebe asked ,"Sweetie, what's wrong?".

Amber swung her head to the other side, escaping her Grandma's delicate grip. Phoebe decided not to insist too much, but to soothe Amber into it. "Honey, talk to me. I can help."

Amber turned her head back round, staring at her Grams with her sparkling eyes. She commanded herself not to cry, but even she couldn't stop the dry lump that continued to grow in her throat. She breathed in and began to speak - or at least began to try to speak.

"My… Dad… Found… Out," she whispered.

"Found out what?"

"That I'm a mutant," she said, lowering her head, avoiding her Grandma's gaze.

Phoebe's serious look disappeared as soft laughter occupied the void. Confusion hit Amber hard and fast as she lifted her head up, her expression doing the inquiring for itself.

"I always knew this day would come," Phoebe stated, pride shining in her eyes.

Amber shook her head, unable to wrap her head around the information. "What do you mean?" she inquired, brushing her wet hair out of her face.

"You're a witch."

If anyone else had told her that, she would have shot them down immediately, but this was her Grams; her beloved, trustworthy Grams. The person who unofficially raised her. She trusted her with her life, she had to trust her now.

As she began to think, everything seemed to come together like pieces of a puzzle. Being a witch would explain everything. After a few long minutes of staring at her green Converses she looked up.

Phoebe knew she'd understand, after all she was a Halliwell. A direct descendant of the great Charmed one, Phoebe Halliwell. The strained silence came to an end when Amber said, "Tell me more."

Amber had always been surprising; an underdog, if you may. But this time, she didn't surprise Phoebe at all. She might of, had Phoebe not been monitoring her emotions during Amber's little think.

"Why tell, when I can show?" Phoebe said, showing her wisdom teeth through her wide grin.

Phoebe raised herself from her tasteful sofa and put her inviting hand out to Amber. The naïve witch accepted. The twosome paced up the stairs and into Phoebe's Altar room.

Inside, the moonlight seeping through the colour stained windows illuminated a glorious replica of the legendary Book Of Shadows and it's mahogany stand.

Amber stared at the emerald green tome, secretly begging to open it.

_**[x]**_

"Wait. Is that Phoebe Halliwell; my great aunt?" Lucas asked, staring at the orb as the image of the girl and her Grams began to fade away leaving, yet again, the white mist.

"I'm here to show you information, Lucas. I was sent by a much higher power, the highest power, not answer all your questions and send you on your way but to help you discover who you truly are. You must find these people. Know them. Connect with them." she said, her voice not failing once to present a feeling of mystery.

Lucas put his head down as if trying desperately to put the very irregular puzzle pieces together, until he noticed the mists glowing once more, forming what seemed to be a cemetery.

_**[x]**_

A teenager and his mother stood over a brown coffin. The lady was wearing a black jacket and was wiping her tears away with a bleach white handkerchief. The teenager however, looked stronger and tried desperately not to break down in front of his mother, tears however broke through his mental barrier, advancing down his face.

The two watched as the mahogany coffin sunk into the ground, disappearing into nothing. The mother couldn't bear to watch and covered her eyes with her handkerchief. This was the most painful day of both of their lives, although the cancer had taken a while to eventually kill the deceased man in front of them, actually accepting the fact that he was gone was one million times worse.

Later on, they stayed behind after everyone else went back to the house, the mother, Sarah, stared at the gravestone and read the epitaph: "Beloved husband and dedicated father". Although the inscription was put there to honour the deceased, it hurt the most reading it and pierced Sam Taylor's heart.

He was always close to his dad and already missed him a lot. It was hard for his father to accept the fact that he was married to a witch, but he always respected both of them, and treated them with as much love as he would have anyone else.

The mists swirled once more changing the scene and revealing a modern apartment, the columns of mist formed, one by one, a crowd of people, all clad in black. Some were crying, others were whispering politely.

Sarah was weeping up in her room, after begging to remain in solitude, with only her thoughts as company. The door creaked open, revealing Sam, still clad in his black suit, he had a piece of paper in his hand, but smoothly placed it in his pocket as he entered.

"Mom?" he said as he entered, his voice uncertain.

Sarah wiped her tears away, trying to make herself presentable. "Come in," she said, her voice still affected by the lump that grew in the bottom of her throat.

His mother lifted her eyes up and looked at her son, he looked distracted but concerned. "You have got to stop worrying about everyone else." she said, moments later looking over at the bottle of liquor bottle that sat on her bedside table. She had been trying to resist temptation for so long, but now she wanted her problems to disappear more than ever.

"That will only make things worse," Sam advised, worrying about his unstable mother.

"Oh yeah, then what will?" she replied furiously. She exhaled loudly, regretting her snappy answer, "I'm sorry.. I'm just having… a bad time."

"I think I can help," he said. His mother looked up, confused.

"And how would you do that?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

Sam quickly whispered something through his teeth. An eerie wind whistled through the room, wrapping itself around his mother, she became immobilized. Sam looked concernedly at his frozen mother but carried on with what he was doing. He extracted the scrap of paper out of his pocket and began reading it's contents.

"_Release my mother from her pain,_

_In time let her regain_

_Her emotion baggage far too immense,_

_Let her life recommence "_

_**[x]**_

"So, what do I do with this?" Lucas inquired once the mists were fully withdrawn, leaving an empty sphere. The Gypsy smiled, and then slowly faded away, leaving an empty shop. Lucas slowly lifted himself up. He walked over to the entrance of the magic shop, and looked over his shoulder as though acknowledging the shop for a moment, then walked outside.

The crystal illuminated itself once more, and the previously white mists were now a shade of light blue. A face began to appear inside the sphere, taking the form of the Angel of Destiny. She smiled triumphantly at the still shaking door, before dissipating back into the crystal's depths.

* * *

**If you want to see a chapter two, review.**

**Yes, it rhymes. **


	2. Lost In The Labyrinth

**Lost in the Labyrinth.**

_The second chapter in the heritage series._

* * *

**26th**** of September, 2052. **

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But what if it didn't? What if there was a place where the laws of nature were **not** acknowledged, a place where anything was possible. A place of eternal torture or maybe eternal bliss. A place where your darkest fears could creep from your mind, or a place where your dreams could manifest themselves in an array of bright colours. Unfortunately, such a place is unreachable. Or at least it is for a measly man.

Amber Stewart walked the streets of San Francisco, clad in the latest fashion and her big black Ray bans. She needed them for the bright sun that was causing the unbearable heat, blamed by many as global warming, an accusation Amber found idiotic. The weather was unpredictable, a bit like magic. Or herself.

Phoebe Halliwell's progeny groaned as the intolerable heat continued to scorch her pale skin and once she had wiped her forehead with her sleeve she continued to move along the footpath. Her footsteps stopped when she felt a cool breeze run down her spine. She turned her head and noticed the source of the icy wind; a cosy café she often frequented that seemed to have installed a fully functional air conditioning system.

She succumbed to her desire to enter and crossed the metallic doorsill. A rush of cool air boomed out of the fan above the door, freezing Amber's sweaty back. She basked in the moment before realising how stupid she must look to others. Flipping back to reality she noticed the barman, John.

"Hello John," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hi Amber," he said. "The usual?"

"Thank you," Amber said, with a smile across her face. The small man handed a news paper over to her along with a small bottle of orange juice. She smiled once more and walked over to one of the white tables. Once seated, the Stewart opened the newspaper and began reading.

She stopped on one page. Her eyes ran across it rapidly, absorbing the information as fast as possible. The article spoke of one of the disappearances that had been occurring recently, disappearances that had infected the city with alien-abduction-fever which had spread like wildfire over the past few weeks.

The abduction was identical to the others: a young girl taken violently from her home never to be heard from again.

Amber released a heavy breath as she placed the newspaper on the table. Her eyes quickly scanned the room before removing a bubblegum pink folder from her _Liu Jo_. She carefully pulled a bunch of newspaper extracts out of it, they all contained similar cases to the one she had previously read. She brushed her fingers through her hair when she realised that the new case didn't contribute at all to her small investigation.

"_Zilch. Nada," _she thought.

"Hey Amber," said another voice, aloud.

Amber spun around to see her blonde friend and colleague Julia walk from behind and take a seat opposite the witch. The Wicca was caught off guard and attempted to subtly sweep her investigation back into her handbag.

"Oh, hi."

"What are those?" the mortal asked leaning over, attempting to get a glimpse of the pieces of paper. Julia had always been a curious person, even when she was a teenager. It had been something they had in common, and continued to have in common to this very day. They had been friends since they were children, and their bond grew even stronger when they each discovered a mutual passion for photography.

"Oh, you know, bits and bobs," Amber said, a fake eagerness in her eyes as she tried to distract her friend. "Anyway, how are you?"

Julia frowned, but shrugged it off. "Same old same old. You?" she asked, sipping her chocolate Mocaccino.

Amber smiled, looking down at the table. "I'm actually pretty busy, you know me; busy as a bee."

The witch grabbed her bag and began to stand up but felt sorry for her friend as she saw her sad expression, so decided to console her by saying, "Rain check?".

The mortal nodded half-heartedly. Amber smiled sympathetically and leaned down to kiss her friend before departing. When her glossy red lips touched Julia's cheek an aggressive surge of energy ran through her body, pulling her into one of her visions.

_**[x]**_

Her brown eyes flicked open as she looked around the cave she now stood in. Her body felt light, almost inexistent and her feet were floating off the floor, as if in a dream. She looked around at her surroundings which were all in black and white and then at her hands which were still in full colour.

Chanting echoed through the cave and Amber turned around slowly to discover the source. Each one of her breaths seemed to echo also, one of the many side effects of having this particularly desirable power. Her eyes met a dark figure, standing over a cauldron and chanting words that were unfamiliar to the witch.

The dark silhouette was reading the engraved symbols found upon the cracked stone tablet which was placed conveniently in front of the cauldron. His lips continued to pronounce the strange words, and the cauldron bubbled violently with each word.

Amber stared at him, wondering how she was supposed to react. Although she was powerless at the moment, she was determined to discover why the premonition was triggered when she kissed her friend.

The premonition continued with the excessive bubbling of the liquid contained in the rusty cauldron. A sly grin crept across his face as he opened his palm and summoned an urn from the other side of the catacomb. He opened the urn and slowly began pouring it's contents into the mix. Amber insides turned as she realised that the thick liquid he was pouring was actually blood.

Mixing the blood into the concoction, he continued to chant as he watched the potion's fumes grow in size. The bubbles in the cauldron became more aggressive and the chanting became louder. A spark flew from the demon's hand and into the potion triggering an explosion that inevitably caused Amber to fly backwards.

The witch went flying into the colourful chairs that occupied the space behind her. Her body weight had returned to being normal and her premonition was clearly over, leaving behind a lot of questions and one hell of a bruise. Julia pushed her chair back, it's feet screeching against the floor and ran to the fallen witch.

Amber had experienced premonitions many times before but none that packed such an significant emotional punch, the vision had left her more shaken than she'd have liked her friend to know.

_**[x]**_

The young witch emerged from her dark blue car and stared up at the red manor that stood proudly in front of her. She smiled as the sensation of being home returned and began to make a bee line for the manor's entrance. Once inside she threw her keys on the table in the hallway and called out for her Grams. No answer though.

Amber twirled her head around as the sound of potion exploding roared through the house. The young witch ran up the hollow stairway and into the attic only to find her grandmother sitting serenely on the floor surrounded by thick black smoke.

"Grams?" Amber saluted as she approached the elderly lady. "Are you all right?"

The Halliwell twirled around and smiled a full tooth grin when she saw her granddaughter. Her hair was grey and short, her smooth skin had turned wrinkly and rough and her eyes no longer possessed the happiness they had years ago.

"Oh yes. It just seems I put too much mandrake root in the mix," she replied, small pieces of ash falling from above as they spoke.

Amber giggled and shook her hands around, banishing the smoke that was slowly enveloping them. "Why were you playing with potions anyway?" she inquired whilst her Grams Gigi walked towards the colour-stained windows.

"No sweetie, I wasn't playing. I was just coming up with a more comfortable teleportation potion," she said pushing the window open allowing the dark smoke to slowly seep out. _That's better _she thought.

"Though I don't seem to be doing very well," she explained as she resumed her previous post near the potions table. "Paige was always the one who created new potions. I was more of a spell writer," Phoebe said in a saddened tone, looking down at the wooden floorboards as the thought of her deceased sister came to mind.

"You still have me, Gigi," Amber said, reaching forward and placing her palms on her grams' shoulders affectionately. "Hey, that rhymes…" she then said to herself in a quiet whisper.

Phoebe smiled at her granddaughter and returned the kind words, "You truly are a godsend."

Amber blushed slightly but then remembered the reason she had returned home. "I actually came here because I needed your help… I had a premonition."

The witch sat down on the loveseat and began describing her premonition with the utter most detail. Her Grams Gigi sat patiently on another seat, awaiting the ending before jumping to conclusions, commenting or coming up with a plan.

"We have to find Julia first," Phoebe said, knowing that protecting the innocent came before vanquishing the demon. Amber felt stupid for letting her out of her sight and nodded. They both lifted themselves up and walked out of the attic door.

_**[x]**_

_So this is where she lives_ Phoebe thought as she stepped into a grotty apartment situated on the opposite side of San Francisco. Although she had known Julia since Amber first brought her to the manor, she had never been to her apartment or known the conditions in which she lived.

Amber looked around the devastated room. It looked like a bomb had went off. If the furniture wasn't overturned, it had been incinerated. Julia obviously put up quite a fight, and for whatever reason, the kidnapper obviously needed her alive or he wouldn't have put up with her struggle.

The various possibilities rushed through her mind when she spotted the kitchen island and the pool of blood which sat on top, slowing dripping off the side. The fight had obviously ended there. With Julia either unconscious, or dead.

Gigi followed her granddaughter's gaze and spotted the blood as well. She walked towards the island and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, dabbing it in the red fluid. They were going to need it if they ever intended on finding the girl, dead or alive.

"I'll catch up with you," Amber told her grandmother. Her dark green eyes glistening as tears began to form. It was her own mountain of errors that had formed this mess, if only she had stayed with her friend. If only she wasn't so dependent of her grams she could have helped her there and then. _Destiny is harsh _Amber thought, feeling as if the-powers-that-be were ripping away the only fragments of happiness she had left.

Her heart was pounding hard and her feet began taking her towards the kitchen, and once the intense smell of blood reached her nostrils, a sea of negative emotions swallowed the young witch. She pounded her fragile fist down on the counter as she released her repressed tears. The tears hit the already disrupted blood and the sight of it caused Amber to feel even more sick.

She lifted herself up and inhaled loudly, invoking her inner strength. After all, she was going to need it to get to the bottom of this. The witch swiftly wiped her tears off her face and made her way towards her Grandmother, who was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairway.

_**[x]**_

"Damn it," Amber muttered as she dropped an amethyst crystal back into the pot. She had been concocting a scrying potion for a while now using only the finest of ingredients, one of those being verbena which Amber recently discovered could be used to amplify the power and duration of an enchantment or potion.

One of Amber's ambitions in life was to know everything about witchcraft. She knew of every potion ingredient present on Earth, and had memorized a great deal of spells. She also respected _most _of the wiccan rules, but ignored the personal gain one for reasons that seemed logical to her.

Amber pushed her hand to the bottom of the liquid and extracted the crystal and watched as drops of the pale blue mix drizzled off the gem. She moved her hand over to the map and waiting eagerly as the pending crystal began to rotate.

Amber felt a slight pull and realized that the purple crystal was ready to fall. The gem began gleaming before catching alight, burning away part of the string which bound it. The Stewart let go of the gem and frowned as it burned a small hole in the map.

"It sometimes does that when the lost thing is in the underworld," Grams Gigi explained, relieving Amber of her uncertainties.

"Okay," Amber muttered. "We'll go now," she said, proceeding with her plan without a second to spare.

"Sweetie.. I think we should learn more before leaving," Phoebe wasn't behind Amber with this choice, and believed that her reckless plan could have fatal consequences for the both of them.

"Grams! How can you say that?" Amber said, glaring furiously at her grandmother. "She is my best friend! I've lost too many people, I'm not going to lose her too."

"It's just, I don't see how we'll be helping Julia if we get killed as well."

"As well?" Amber said, clenching her fingers into a fist as fury began to dominate her emotions.

"You know what I mean," Phoebe replied sighing as she evaded her progeny's gaze.

"No. I don't think I do!" Amber snapped. "Do explain," she continued sourly.

Phoebe remained silent, deciding it was best for the both of them.

"Fine," Amber said, grabbing her pre-made potions off the table. "I'll do it myself," she spat.

She reached across the table and grabbed one of the yellow potions entitled _Teleportation _and threw it to the ground. Pillars of smoke escaped the vial and grew in size until ultimately enveloping the witch in smoke and dissipating.

_**[x]**_

Columns of smoke crept into one of the many caves in the underworld accompanied by the clairvoyant, Amber Stewart. The smoke was swept away when Amber looked around the cave, recognizing it immediately as the one from her vision. She scanned the room with her eyes, searching for any sign of her friend Julia. She began walking forward unsatisfied with what she was seeing, or more what she wasn't seeing.

"Julia?" she called out, hoping for some sort of response. Again, nothing.

The same chanting from her vision echoed through the catacomb and Amber, mimicking her premonition, approached the source. There she found the same cloaked figure and the same urn of blood. She watched once more as he poured the blood into the same concoction, the only difference was that this time she had the power to intervene.

She stepped forward and, for lack of concentration and on-the-spot creativity she yelled, "Hey demon!"

The demon didn't flinch and continued the ritual. She frowned, feeling just as powerless now as she was in her vision. Amber impatiently opened her potion pouch and chucked the blue one towards the demon. He briefly flicked his fingers and sent the potion back to the emitter. Amber's eyes widened whilst she ducked and allowed it to hit one of the near stalactites. She cursed when she realised that the smashed pieces of glass on the floor were the remains of her last offensive potion. Maybe her Grams was right, she wasn't prepared for this.

A small spark of electricity was released from the demon's fingertips and flew into the potion. "Oh, shit," Amber said as she knew what was about to happen and ,inevitably, the potion exploded, sending the witch flying backwards and into the cave wall.

The smoke released with the explosion began to die down and revealing a second figure, one that now stood in the cauldron, naked. Once the smoke cleared he flicked his eyelids open revealing his crimson red eyes and the two short horns that emerged out of his forehead.

Amber managed to scramble to her knees, but screamed when she involuntarily applied pressure on her new leg wound.

The demon that stood in the cauldron spun his head around at the sound of the scream and stepped out slowly. The cloaked figure fell to his knees and began praising the demon. "My lord! I brought you back."

"_Minions," _Amber mocked using her inner voice.

"I see that," he said, twirling his head around as he released himself from the neck cricks that came with his new body. "You have served me well. But I don't see how you can serve me any longer,"

The demon placed his hand on the side of his minion's face, and watched as his face turned red, before eventually turning to cinder. Amber looked around the room, her eyes open wide in fright, hoping to find some exit, unfortunately all she had left was her magic and one measly transportation potion.

The demon turned to the fallen witch, confident and malicious. Amber sensed that he was dangerous and decided to use her folded ace. She smashed the transportation potion on the floor and gritted her teeth as the glass penetrated her skin and the smoke seeped out.

He grinned and grabbed the smoke within his palm, causing it to dissipate in an array of crimson red lights. And all of a sudden, darkness and fire were everywhere. Amber, although still a mere cloud, could feel it scorching her throat, and consuming her very soul. It felt as if her body was about to explode. The heat was getting stronger, the darkness too.

_**[x]**_

Amber's eyes opened slowly and her blurry surroundings soon became crystal clear; she brushed away the veil of brown hair that was covering her face and slowly pushed herself up. She looked around and realised that she was sat in one of the many San Franciscan alleys, a blood stain growing on her creamy trousers.

She reacted on instinct and ripped her cardigan off, tearing it to shreds. Then lifting her trousers up she slowly tied one of the chunks of material over the wound, sealing it off. The pain, however, remained unfazed.

Now that she had superficially sealed the wound, she had to get back. She had to stop the demon. She had to save her friend. She had to overcome the pain. Her head was about to explode with all the things she had to do, but it was her duty. As a person and as a witch.

She limped up and observed the small red patch she had left behind, sighing slightly as she began to stroll off. The clairvoyant reached the end of the alley and turned around the corner.

The new branch of the alley was identical to the one she had just exited, down to every last detail. Even the uniquely shaped blood stain was present.

She threw her head around and scanned the area behind her. But the street she had just came from wasn't there anymore, she now stood in front of a plain grey dead-end. She ran forward, turning around the corner again. But nothing changed; she still stood in the same place, in front of the plain wall.

The witch whirled around again, breathing heavily and running her hands through her hair as desperation began to haul it's way into the sea of emotions that were flowing inside of her. She was spinning around uncontrollably, trying to locate an exit route.

Two firm arms grabbed her firmly, blocking her. She gasped as she recognized the same two red eyes that gazed into hers. "Hello," he said in a false-kind tone.

Amber struggled to release herself, but failed continuously. "What did you do to me?"

The demon just laughed. "I did nothing to you," he said almost too calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Amber asked.

"You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy," he said sarcastically.

"Then where am I?"

"I was never good at tell. How about we skip to show?" he said, digging his dirty fingernails into her arms.

Suddenly, he let go and the street that surrounded her began to spin around. Twisting, turning, never ending. Then, just like that, the street was gone. The only thing that seemed to remain from the demon were his crimson red eyes. Everything else fell away, consumed by a cloud of pure darkness. In it's place, was a location very familiar to the witch, her childhood home.

She looked down at her trousers and noticed that the blood-stain had apparently vanished. Amber found it strange, but no stranger than what was happening to her right now.

"You're supposed to love me for whatever I am!" a voice cried from the sitting room steps in front of the witch. She proceeded forward to discover the source and that's when it hit her: Those were the very words she pronounced on the worst day of her life, the day she was expelled her from the household by her father for practicing magic.

"You could have been great, and now you're _tainted_ just like your mother!" her father, Abraham, responded. The older Amber watched in disgust as she held onto the doorframe.

"But dad! It wasn't my fault. These visions just come to me, I had to do something to -to stop them from happening!" the thirteen year old yelled, her eyes filling with tears and her jaw trembling uncontrollably.

"You know what, get out! Your grams brought this upon us now she can deal with it!" her father yelled. The observing Amber shivered, her own painful memories flooding back into her mind.

"No! I didn't choose this!" The thirteen year old Amber shouted out, her lips trembling uncontrollably. "It's not my fault." she muttered, covering her face with her fragile little hands.

"This is my fault, if I had just left you with your Grams from the start this would have never happened. I just hoped it would have skipped a generation," he spat. "But you are all the same and you deserve to be together," Abraham yelled getting up from his seat and walking towards the futuristic phone. "I'm going to call you a cab, and that's the last I want to see of you and your filthy Grams Gigi."

"No!" both Amber's yelled simultaneously, falling to their knees in despair.

"You see," The Minotaur whispered in Amber's ear. "The only family you had left abandoned you, but can you really blame him?"

Amber sucked up her feelings and asked, "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

She had unknowingly been sucked into a trap where no one could ever find her again. The least she could do was know who she was up against.

"I am Minos, the Dark Overseer of this world. This Labyrinth. **The **Labyrinth," the demon answered arrogantly, the light from her childhood home gleaming off of his horns. "I used to rule over more than one realm, then it was taken from me. Stolen away. Everyone started watching my every move, waiting for me to fall-"

"Can you really blame them?"

The demon shot her a look of pure evil before continuing, "And that's when he vanquished me. Thesus. For the love of Zeus, I **will** rip him apart. If not in this life, then in another."

"Oh," she said, allowing a long pensive pause to follow. "Kay."

She began dashing down the through her old home, but it was futile. The baby blue walls began to dissolve around her, leaving her in an ocean of darkness, soon to be swallowed whole by her own memories. The darkness morphed once more and took the form of a hospital wing and anew, Amber recognized it from when she was a child; it was the hospital she _frequently_ came to. She broke her left leg twice, her right arm once and various fingers throughout the years as she just couldn't keep out of trouble.

_Probably one of the reasons I was kicked out _Amber thought.

The hallways were almost deserted. A small girl, around eleven sat in a pink dress sat on a hospital bed alongside a chubby nurse with a scarily chipper expression. Amber recognized her eyes from somewhere, but she was unable to place her.

The hospital ward suddenly fell into darkness, all the lights had gone out, all of them except the ones in the room ahead. Amber found herself moving towards the room, almost as if she no longer had control over her body.

That's when she saw her. Those round beautiful eyes gleaming as she lay on the hospital bed. It was her mother, and even when she was giving birth she was stunning. Abraham, Amber's father, sat aside her, caressing her hands in his. Amber couldn't help but smile at the radiating sight of her, it was her mother after all. And that's when she realized, that today was the day…

Her mother let out a sigh of relief as the baby was finally released from her body. The newborn screeched as it came into the new world, and everyone present in the room smiled enthusiastically, the baby was truly beautiful. Abraham's eyes were filled with joy as he watched his wife. He had never seen her so happy.

Their expressions soon changed when they spotted blood coming from underneath Pamela's hospital robes. The light in the labyrinth turned grey and everything seemed to move slowly. Minos wanted Amber to _see_, wanted her to break down.

Pamela's vision began to blur, and her heartbeat decelerated. Abraham's face went glum as he watched his beloved wife die, there was nothing he could do, her eyes were closing as he held her hands tight in his grip, instinctively trying to hold onto her and not allow her to pass over. Pamela's eyes slowly began to close and Abraham's lips were trembling as he watched her slip away.

Amber's eyes were glistening with tears that slowly progressed down her face, she looked to the floor, unable to look at her father's mourning face. The newborn baby was cradled in the nurse's arms, smiling innocently as she absorbed the big new world. Little did she know that her mother had just passed away.

Her father looked around at the baby, and shot her a look of disgust. _She_ was responsible for this, if she hadn't been delivered then his wife would still be alive.

Amber lifted her head only to find the hospital room was gone and that she had returned to the alleyway. She turned around and spotted two crimson eyes staring at her from the dark.

"How's the stroll down memory minefield?"

"What do you _want _from me?" she muttered desperately.

"You stumbled in. I wasn't looking for you, you were seeking me," he replied, skulking in the darkness.

"Yeah, I was looking for.. My friend," she said, remembering why she had came to the cave in the first time. All the bad visions were just distracting her from the bigger picture. "And I intend on finding her."

"You're convinced she's still alive?" he asked, moving into a lit space.

"Yes," Amber said confidently. "Well, I guess you'll love my next trick then."

The fabric of the labyrinth began to morph itself again, changing into Julia's apartment. It was still a complete and utter mess, and the smell was still as overwhelming as ever. Only this time, it smelt of deceased, and less of fresh blood.

She inhaled before walking forward, approaching the source of the smell. She peeked over the bed and saw a stone white leg emerging from underneath, blood leaking down it. _Like the Minos said, it's just a trick _Amber thought, consoling herself.

Amber suddenly screamed as a cold hand shot out from the other side of the bed and seized her leg. She managed to shake it off and jump backwards.

The body that accompanied the hand crept out, scraping her fingernails on the wooden floor. It was Julia and Amber knew it. Even with cuts and bruises scattered across her body and ragged hair, she was still recognizable.

"This is **your** fault," she spoke in a husky voice, her stone white index finger pointing at the witch. Amber let out a cry as she stumbled back, falling on the floor as she held her head in her hands begging the vision to end.

That was it. This was just a vision. _The Minotaur is just showing me events, that may, or may not have happened. _She thought, closing her eyes and standing up, terrified that she might be wrong. She turned around and stared into the dark part of the room, spotting those deep red eyes and ignoring the animated corpse that slowing crept towards her.

Amber glared at the demon, still shaking. "What have you done with her?" she asked, her eyes continuously flicking back to the rotten corpse that was crawling across the wooden floor.

"The universal laws of magic; are you familiar with them?" a voice uttered from the shadows.

Amber shook her head and allowed him to continue, "The laws that were created at the beginning of time: one life can't be returned without another leaving. An exchange, if you may. In my particular case, it took 12 killed in my name to resurrect me, one of those was your friend," he said apathetically, smiling at Julia as she made her way across the ground.

Amber's features were distorted with anger as she began to believe The Minotaur. "You killed her," she said, the words struggling to raise out from her dry lumpy throat. The demon changed the environment back to the alleyway, and Amber peeked once more at her friend who now lay static on the floor as she faded away.

"I've killed lots of people," he said, smiling maliciously.

That was the push Amber didn't need. The chaotic emotions that fizzled inside of the witch were channelled into her power, a power that had remained dormant from birth.

Her blood boiling and her heart pounding, her eyes became stained with a rim of violet that ran through the dark brown and suddenly, in a rapid and intense flash of purple and white lights, the replica of the Book Of Shadows was right in front of her, it's triquetra gleaming proudly in the alley light.

"_Use it wisely, my sweet." _a ghostly voice echoed in her head.

"A book?" the demon asked, laughing slightly. His ancient roots rendered him ignorant of the book of shadows, little did he know that this very book had defeated armies of demons. The Book opened slowly, revealing two of it's pages.

_What the hell was that?_ Amber pondered. She felt that it had come out of her, but she also felt something else. Almost as if someone, somewhere was calling out to her. Helping her tap into this new, strange power.

"Realms," she read aloud, the demon smiling at Amber's attempt to defeat him with a book. Back in his times, magic wasn't so verbal seeing as how writing existed in small quantities, so this form of attack was strange and mysterious to him. "These worlds are separated from us by a thin veil…" she skimmed ahead. "…they cannot be tamed or controlled by one individual. If they are then…" and that's where the entry ended, the last part had faded away.

_That was it. _Amber thought.

"You don't control this realm," she stated, arising from the floor.

"Of course I do, I can make you see anything,." he teased, smiling falsely. He raised his hands, causing the walls to melt around him and form once more her childhood home.

"We don't have financial problems," Abraham's voice told a worried Phoebe in the kitchen whilst a toddler version of Amber sat on the floor watching 'Sponge bob square pants'.

"But that's just my point. I'm not trapped here at all. In fact, my powers are amplified here, as are yours. Illusion, is it?"

"Yes! You filthy witch! I have more than that though. I have rituals you have never even heard of, that you will never hear of, and that you will never understand. Minoseek, being one of them. I can access memories as I please."

"Eh. Doesn't change anything. You can't keep me here, or defeat me with your power," she stated, ignoring the Minos' incessant bragging.

"Enough of this, I'll kill you now and have it over with." Amber felt a sudden rush of magical energy rush through her limbs, and although she hadn't touched anything, she was sucked into a vision. The pulse left her body moments later just as soon as she had witnessed and absorbed the information the premonition had wanted to grant her with.

"Oh! A girl could get used to this," she said to the demon approaching her with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

The demon swung at her, but she ducked _just _in time. He threw another punch, and she evaded it perfectly. He kept on attacking, but Amber had seen the future in detail, so there was no stopping her.

Then he grabbed her and threw her across the alley and into a dumpster as if she was a rag doll.

"Ow. Okay. Didn't see that coming." she muttered, jumping down.

She evaded yet another attack, ducked down and spin-kicked the demon's shins, causing him to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

_Amber, get out of there _said the ghostly voice inside her head. The voice was definitely feminine and although the voice was strangely familiar, as if she had heard it in a dream some time, she was unable to place it. One thing was certain though, it was not the voice of Phoebe Halliwell.

Leaning over him she said, "You tricked me. You brought back a heap load of dark memories and to top it all off, you are responsible for the death of my _friend_. All for what? Fun?"

"I guess I got a few kicks out of it," the demon replied, blood seeping from in between his teeth.

"Well, seeing as you have so much **fun** in this realm, lets see how you feel spending eternity here." she said sarcastically. It was hard though, keeping a straight face that is.

"_Take me back from whence I came_

_And trap this demon in his domain."_

She would always remember the all-consuming feelings of dread and hopelessness as those red eyes began to fade away along with the rest of the alley. The magical journey home was painless, as most magical trips are, but that didn't mean her suffering ended there.

The white lights that were surrounding her blinded her vision. Little did she know she was travelling through a never ending passageway filled with millions of realms, until eventually, she came to her branch of space and time.

_**[x]**_

The city was falling asleep as Amber walked down Prescott street. Her eyes were still wet and her skin was covered in goose bumps, her suppressed fears were manifesting themselves on her physical body. She wiped her face with her dirty sleeve and looked up at the Halliwell manor, she had no desire to enter and face her Grams. After all her Grams was right to attempt stopping her and if only she wasn't so stubborn, she could have avoided all of this.

Her friend was dead, and she thought it was all her fault. Images of Julia crawling across the floor flashed through her mind as tears began to reform in her light brown eyes.

Amber jumped when the automatic front porch light flicked on, she had been a little on edge ever since she had left the Labyrinth. In a way her mind had become a labyrinth of it's own, filled solely of thoughts made even more confusing by the lack of words to express them.

Amber placed the tome she was holding on the porch table and as she did a room in the manor was suddenly lit up, revealing a Grams-shaped silhouette. The silhouette moved from the window once she had spotted Amber.

The manor door swung open and Phoebe rushed out, impressing Amber with her rapid feet. She ran forward and embraced her granddaughter in a tight squeeze.

"I was so worried," said Grams, breathing heavily and stroking Amber's hair affectionately. "I thought I'd lost you."

Amber pulled away and sniffled. "The demon.. He killed…" she said, finding it hard to actually pronounce Julia's name. "Julia," she finally said.

_**[x]**_

The grandfather clock that stood gloriously in the Halliwell manor's hall had been moving it's hands as the hours went by. Amber had taken a not-so-relaxing bath convinced that it would help her in a way and Phoebe sat anxiously on the loveseat downstairs. The situation reminded both women of the night Amber had moved in, the only difference is that she had learnt to suppress her woe and was generally less open about her emotions.

She came downstairs, clad in a pink bathrobe which didn't fit her mood at all, and sat down next to her Grams.

_I'm ready _Amber thought.

She took a deep breath and told her Grams everything, or at least she tried to. "I'm so sorry," said the older witch, once Amber had finished.

"Don't be," replied Amber miserably. "If I had listened to you, I wouldn't have had to put myself through that. "

Phoebe just looked to the ground, ashamed that she unintentionally contributed to her granddaughter's guilt. "None of this was your fault," she reassured her descendant. "No matter how hard you try, we can't save every innocent. We're witches not.. Gods."

"I know," Amber said, inhaling a large amount of air "But it doesn't make it any easier." she said slowly, staring blankly at the floorboards as she spoke.

Phoebe hesitated, but then said, "You're not alone, trust me."

"I know, I have you. I only have you," the young witch said, lifting her head up and slightly smiling at her Grams.

"No, you don't," Phoebe said, looking at the floor to avoid Amber's painfully confused gaze. Amber wasn't ready to lose another person in her life not aft-

"What I mean is, you have more family than you think," Phoebe continued, with the intention of relieving Amber of her distress and not adding to it. "It's just one you'll have to seek."

Thousands of questions buzzed inside of the young witch's head as she processed the given information. _More family? _she thought, almost feeling guilty for the fleck of joy she was feeling.

"I saw a girl," Amber stated. "In the vision of my mother. She had long dark hair and big eyes." she continued, feeling as though she needed to give a better explanation.

"All in due time," Phoebe answered. Amber nodded half-heartedly at her grandmother, she wanted to tell her about the power she exhibited in the labyrinth, and that small voice she heard in her head, but she didn't want to have to deal with anymore. Both women felt guilty for holding onto their secrets, but were aware that some secrets were better left alone.

Phoebe smiled sympathetically, before pushing herself up and walking up the stairs figuring Amber could use some time alone. As she proceeded to the top floor, a picture of her sisters and herself caught her eye. Phoebe walked up to it and held it in her palm. She smiled at the sight of Piper's goofy grin, and Paige's long red hair. _It's funny the things you miss_ she mused before walking into her room and shutting the wooden door behind her.

Phoebe had always thought herself an agent of her own destiny, capable of deciding for herself, **above** the laws that formed the Grand design. Little did she know that she was the furthest thing from it. Losing her sisters, her husband, her _family_, had not rendered her weak nor defenceless, it had made her strong. Strong enough to fight the eternal battle, strong enough to raise a child that was not her own and strong enough to tell her the truth.

Or at least enough of the truth to satisfy her curiosity.

_**[x]**_

* * *

_**A/N**_**: You are probably wondering about Amber's powers. And well **_"All in due time." _**There is more to come from Amber, lots more. This is only the beginning.**


End file.
